How to View or Delete Your Chrome History

To see your Chrome history on a computer, press Ctrl + H (Command + Y on a Mac), or click the three-dot More menu and choose History > History. To delete it, click More > Delete browsing data, pick a time range such as All time, check Browsing history, and click Delete data. On a phone or tablet, tap More > History.

The steps below follow Google’s Check or delete your Chrome browsing history help page, which has separate tabs for computers, Android, and iPhone and iPad, along with its Chrome keyboard shortcuts list. Menu names can change a little between Chrome versions, so a label on your screen may not match exactly.

Before You Start: What Chrome History Is

Your browsing history is the list of web pages Chrome records as you visit them. Google says the History page lists the pages you visited in Chrome in the last 90 days. It does not include:

• Pages you opened in Incognito mode, which is Chrome’s private browsing window.
• Chrome’s own pages, such as chrome://settings.
• Pages you already deleted from your history.

If you are signed in to Chrome and sync your history, the History page also shows pages you visited on your other devices. That same sync matters when you delete: Google says history you delete in Chrome is also deleted on the other devices where you are signed in and syncing history.

How to View Chrome History on a Computer

These steps apply to Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebooks.

1. Open Chrome.
2. At the top right, click the three-dot More menu.
3. Click History, then click History again in the submenu. You can skip the menu by pressing Ctrl + H on Windows, Linux, or a Chromebook, or Command + Y on a Mac.
4. Review the list. Type in the Search bar at the top to find a page, or switch between the By date and By group views.
5. Click any entry to open that page again.

Result: the History page opens in a new tab.

Search history from the address bar

You can search your history without opening the History page. Click the address bar, type @history, and press Tab or the space bar. Then type keywords for the page you want and pick it from the suggestions. Google notes you can also choose Search History from the address bar suggestions.

Browse history by group

The By group tab sorts your browsing and searches into topics, so you can pick up earlier research. Select a group to see its pages. To open everything in a group at once, click the three-dot menu next to it and choose Open all in new tab group. Google says some sensitive pages may be hidden from groups automatically. They are still in your history, and you can find them with the search box on the History page.

Reopen a tab you just closed

If you only need a tab you closed by mistake, press Ctrl + Shift + T (Command + Shift + T on a Mac). Google’s shortcut list says this reopens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed. You can also right-click, or click and hold, the Back button to see the pages that tab has visited.

How to Delete Chrome History on a Computer

Before you delete: Google’s help pages do not describe any way to get deleted history back, so treat it as permanent. If history sync is on, the same history is removed from your other signed-in devices. Chrome also stops suggesting those pages in the address bar, so bookmark anything you still need first.

1. Open Chrome and click More > Delete browsing data. The shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + Delete, or Command + Shift + Delete on a Mac.
2. Choose how much to delete from the time range menu, such as Last hour. To delete everything, choose All time.
3. Check Browsing history. Uncheck any other box you want to keep, such as cookies or cached files.
4. Click Delete data.

Result: the pages from that time range disappear from the History page. Google says shortcuts to those pages are removed from the New Tab page and address bar predictions for them are no longer shown. For the suggestions that remain, see how to turn off predictions in the Chrome address bar.

Google also describes a faster route: type Delete browsing data in the address bar and select the action button that appears under it.

What the other checkboxes do

The Delete browsing data window lists more than history. Each box is separate, so check only what you mean to remove. Google’s Delete browsing data in Chrome page describes them this way:

Checkbox	What deleting it does
Browsing history	Removes visited addresses from the History page, their New Tab page shortcuts, and address bar predictions.
Cookies and other site data	Removes cookies, which are small files sites save in your browser. You may need to sign in to websites again.
Cached images and files	Removes saved parts of pages that help them open faster on your next visit.
Download history	Clears the list of downloads. The files themselves stay on your computer.
Autofill form data	Removes saved form entries. Cards and addresses saved in your Google Account are not deleted.
Site settings	Resets permissions you gave websites, such as camera or location access.

Delete one site or a few pages

You do not have to wipe everything to remove a handful of entries.

1. Open the History page with More > History > History.
2. Use the search bar at the top to find the site if the list is long.
3. Check the box next to each entry you want to remove.
4. At the top right, click Delete, then Remove.

In the By group tab, click the three-dot menu next to a page and choose Remove from history, or use the menu next to a group and choose Remove all from history.

A visited site can also linger as a shortcut on the New Tab page. Point to the shortcut, click its three-dot menu, and choose Remove.

How to View and Delete History in the Chrome iPhone App

1. Open Chrome on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the three-dot More button, then tap History.
3. Scroll the list, or use the search bar at the top to find a page.

To delete your history, tap More > Delete Browsing Data. Next to Time Range, choose a duration. Google notes the default is only 15 minutes, so change it if you want to clear more. To pick which data types are included, tap Browsing Data, make your selections, and tap Confirm. Then tap Delete Browsing Data. Google notes you can also reach it through More > History > Delete Browsing Data.

To delete single pages, open History, tap Edit at the bottom, check the entries, tap Delete, then tap Done at the top right. Our separate guide covers how to delete Chrome history on iPad in more detail.

How to View and Delete History in Chrome on Android

1. Open Chrome on your Android phone or tablet.
2. At the top right, tap More, then History. If your address bar is at the bottom of the screen, Google says to swipe up on the address bar and then tap History.
3. Tap an entry to visit that site. Touch and hold an entry for options such as Open in new tab or Copy link under More.

To delete your history on Android:

1. Tap More > Delete browsing data.
2. Choose a duration. The default is 15 minutes. Pick All time to delete everything.
3. Tap More options if you want to choose exactly which data types are deleted, and make sure Browsing history is checked.
4. Tap Delete data.

Note for Android: Google’s Android instructions say that deleting browsing history from this quick screen includes your open tabs, so they will be closed. Save anything you still need first.

To remove one page instead, open History, find the entry, and tap Remove to its right. To remove several, touch and hold one entry until a checkmark appears, select the others, and tap Remove at the top right.

How to Confirm It Worked

• Open the History page again. The entries from the time range you picked should be gone.
• Start typing the address of a deleted site in the address bar. Chrome should no longer predict it from your history.
• If you sync history, check the History page on a second signed-in device. Google says the deletion applies there too.

There is no documented undo. Google’s instructions do not include a way to restore deleted history, so plan on a page only returning to the list when you visit it again.

Troubleshooting

• The History page is empty. You may have been browsing in Incognito mode, or the history was already deleted. On a work or school Chromebook, Google says an administrator can turn off browsing history, in which case the page will not list anything.
• History is older than you expected, or shorter. The History page only goes back 90 days.
• Pages from another device show up. That is history sync. Those pages came from another device signed in to the same Google Account.
• A deleted site still appears on the New Tab page. Remove its shortcut there separately.
• Only a few minutes were deleted on your phone. The mobile apps default to a 15-minute range. Repeat the steps and choose a longer one.
• Your searches still show up on Google. Search activity saved to your Google Account is separate from Chrome history. See the next section.

Chrome History vs. Google Search History

Deleting Chrome history does not clear the searches saved to your Google Account. Google stores those in My Activity when the Web & App Activity setting is on, and they are deleted from your account instead of from Chrome. Google’s Find & erase your Google Search history page explains how, and warns that erased search history cannot be recovered.

Clearing history also does not hide your activity from everyone. It only removes the record kept in Chrome. Google points out that websites, and organizations that manage a network such as an employer, school, or internet provider, may still be able to see what you visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back does Chrome history go?

Google says the History page lists pages you visited in Chrome in the last 90 days. Older visits are not shown there.

How do I stop Chrome from saving history?

Google suggests browsing in Incognito mode. On a computer, click More > New Incognito window, or press Ctrl + Shift + N (Command + Shift + N on a Mac). Chrome does not keep a record of the sites you visit in that window after you close all Incognito windows. Files you download and bookmarks you save are kept. On a phone, see how to open an Incognito tab on iPhone.

Does deleting Chrome history delete my passwords or bookmarks?

Not on a computer, as long as you only check Browsing history. Google lists passwords as data that is managed separately in Google Password Manager. On Android, the delete screen includes a separate saved passwords option, so read the checkboxes before you tap Delete data.

Does deleting history also delete my downloads?

No. Even if you check Download history, Google says only the list of downloads is cleared. The actual files stay on your device until you delete them yourself.

Can I delete history on one device without affecting the others?

Only if that device is not syncing history. When you are signed in to Chrome and history is synced, Google says deleting it removes it from your other signed-in devices as well.

Related Guides

History is only one kind of browsing data. Cookies, downloads, and other Google apps keep their own records, which these guides cover.

• How to delete cookies in Chrome
• How to see recent downloads in Chrome
• How to delete YouTube history on iPad